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This is me

A busy mind in many places. One of my children was asked what I did for a living. The list given includes my main occupation of farming but also goes on to school bus driver, carpentry, furniture making, developer, designer, landscaping, handyman and more. I've traveled in most states of the union (I'm missing two) and several foreign countries. My favorite vacation is a trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. I like to read. Favorite authors include western author Louis L'Amour, science fiction writer Anne McCaffrey and architect Sarah Susanka. I like to sing and am a bass in our local barbershop chorus. In church I also prefer the bass part. My best friend and wife, Karen, and I have 3 children who are all busy and happily building their own lives. We have twin granddaughters born in September 2011 and another granddaughter born in April 2014.

Today’s weather is snowy with cold rain, not exactly corn planting weather. Although the calendar says it is time to begin planting corn, area weather is not right. A trip around the area will show fields that are partly or completely under water, and even some deep snow in some not so sheltered areas. This is not the kind of weather we want this time of year.

One of the advantages of having lived in one area your whole life is you have a weather reference from the past. This is not the first time I have encountered wet conditions in the spring, and it may not be the last. That perspective of years makes me a little less anxious about the weather today. I know we will get the chance to plant eventually.

For most of my life we have been able to plant our entire crop in about a weeks time. We are not the only farmers who can get the job done so quickly, most northern area farmers know they must get the job done when they can. Bad weather can stop farm work so quickly.

So what do you do to preserve your sanity when the weather turns bad? Find another job that you can do is my answer. There is always something to do on the farm and it is time to do it. If the weather turns really bad it’s best to move indoors to a hobby. You’ve got to have something to take your mind off of the sound of falling rain.